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BELLAS WITHOUT BORDERS ‘Incomparable’ is a no-holds-barred tell-all about the twins Christina Fuoco-Karasinski >> The Entertainer!
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ikki and Brie Bella are getting stir crazy. The WWE Hall of Fame inductees are just like everyone else in quarantine—tired of grays poking out from their shiny dark brown locks, frustrated with staying inside and bummed Nikki had to cancel her baby shower. “We’re blessed that we’re healthy and we get to be together,” Brie adds. “Nicole and I were saying how much we missed just going to a coffee shop and sitting there, enjoying a cup of coffee and seeing people and talking and laughing.” Besides Nikki’s baby shower, the Bella Twins were forced to shelf their tour in support of their memoir, “Incomparable” (Simon & Schuster), which hits stores May 5. The 256-page tome was a twoand-a-half-year project that dredges up their problematic childhood and their parents’ contentious relationship, the Bellas’ climb up the WWE ladder, and the twins’ business acumen. They founded companies like Birdiebee, Nicole + Brizee Beauty and Bonita Bonita Wine. Nikki is pregnant with her first child with her “Dancing with the Stars” partner/fiancé Artem Chigvintsev, while Brie is expecting her second child with fellow Superstar Daniel Bryan. “It’s funny because, being a reality star for seven years now, we’re open books,” Brie says. “But the one thing we really haven’t talked about is our childhood and our journey to the ring and to becoming these strong women. “You always want to protect your family. We’re going to expose a lot, and for Nicole and I to go and get our parents’ blessings, that was a hard one. It wasn’t easy.” The Bellas realized they had two choices: go down a “really bad path and be super bummed out” about their childhood or they could be survivors and be strong and positive, which is what they did. “We want other people to feel the same way,” Brie says. “Even if things go really bad, you can turn them around and make them good.”
It didn’t quite go that way when the Bellas asked their mother, Kathy Colace, to read the chapter about her former marriage to their father, Jon Garcia. Colace, who is now married to former Superstar John Laurinaitis, wasn’t shy about her reaction, which was documented on the Bellas’ E! reality show, “Total Bellas.” “My mom got pregnant with us at 18 years old, and when we came they were both 19,” Brie says. “It was like kids raising kids. They were still trying to figure out their lives and here they had kids. My mom always stuck by us and always did the best she could, even though she admits to the mistakes she made. “Because I’m a mom now, it’s hard for me to—I don’t want to use the word ‘expose’—expose what happened to us, because all we ever wanted to do was protect our mother. It’s funny. In the second episode of ‘Total Bellas’ this season, you see how exhausted I look. I wasn’t exhausted from a toddler. I was losing sleep because had to talk to my mom about it. I just didn’t want to hurt her, but at the same time, I wanted to tell my story.” Before the pandemic, the Bellas planned a book tour and a full promotional schedule running up until five weeks before their due date. Instead, they’ll host a virtual book/podcast tour. “Brie and I literally have 5,000 copies being shipped to our house that we have to start signing,” Nikki says. “Then we’re going to work on a virtual book tour. Brie and I definitely want to do something in the fall. We’re hoping we can do that—redo that—and do that across America and the world. “I’d really love to do a tour in the U.K. as well.” The nonstop Zoom and phone interviews are exhausting the Bellas. Usually, they work relentlessly every other week. With their staff sent home, the Bellas are seemingly working around the clock. “I looked at my schedule and I was like, ‘Whoa, I’m really busy, actually,’” Nikki says. “I have 5,000 books to sign, but I don’t want to say no, because everyone needs some sort of hope out there. I know what it does for our fans to
get that signed book in the mail. “I know my hands are going to hurt very bad and it’s going to be time consuming, but if it gives someone a smile, especially in the time we’re in now, it’s so worth it.” The Bellas admit they’re afraid of being pregnant during a pandemic, but there have been flashes of happiness. “We’re high risk, but to know the light at the end of the tunnel in July, beginning of August, is this beautiful baby, it just keeps me smiling every day,” Nikki says. “I know we had to cancel my baby
shower. I’m 36. I’ve been waiting to be a mom for a very long time. It’s definitely not the pregnancy I imagined. Last night, Artem felt the baby kick for the first time, and he was so excited. He woke me up at 6 this morning to talk about it again. It was just the cutest thing.”
The Bella Twins “Total Bellas” 9 p.m. Thursdays on E! eonline.com/shows/total_bellas “Incomparable” bit.ly/2VGk0uw
